Facebook Had a Better Christmas than Google

For the first time in its history, Facebook has become the most visited website in the United States on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. According to Experian Hitwise via a Twitter post, Facebook which was number two most visited website on the same day last year has dislodged Google which was now at the no. 2 spot.

Of course this is not surprising since Facebook users have probably used the site to communicate with their family and friends through the site, exchanging Holiday greetings and sharing photos of their celebration. And this might seem that email has become a thing of the past during this time of the year.

Interestingly, all through out 2009, Facebook has been running third behind Google and Yahoo! Mail despite being the most popular search query from all major search engines, as noted by Hitwise.

That’s worth noting. HitWise reported last year that Facebook was number two behind Google on Christmas. People say that Facebook vs. Google will be the Web’s biggest battle in coming years – but it looks like Facebook has already won the battle for Christmas.

Another interesting point to mention is the fact that the surge of site visits on Facebook happened amidst controversial privacy issues hurled at Facebook this year. Either users no longer mind these issues or they just couldn’t find a better and faster way to communicate with their friends and family during the Holiday Season.

With 2010 just a few days away, it would be interesting to see whether Facebook can sustain this trend and how Google will possibly react.

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Personally, I don’t “get” Facebook. I see many of my friends playing there, posting pictures and having fun with all the little games. Although I set up a ‘business’ page, I get more from Twitter than Facebook.
I don’t understand where people find the time to play on Facebook.
Maybe there is a lesson there, hidden in all the ‘drinks’ and farm games.